Bereavement/Memoir

Finding My Banana Bread Man

A Journey Through Mourning

“When a person you love is terminally ill, you wish and wish for their pain to go away. You even pray for it. Then the cold reality of death stares you in the face, and you start praying for something new—one more day with them, one more hour, one more minute—and you would give anything to have it.” – John R. Davis

When John R. Davis lost his life partner—fondly called his Banana Bread Man—to brain cancer, he also lost himself. He wondered how his world could ever be anything other than gray. Jack had been the one to bring color into his life . . . and more “I Love Lucy” moments than he could count.

How could Davis expect to experience joy again without his partner of 27 years? How would he survive the loss of Jack’s magnanimous presence? Did he even want to survive?

“It doesn’t seem possible at the time, but you can transcend grief.” – Davis

Finding My Banana Bread Man is a love story that:

• guides people mourning the loss of a loved one

• takes them through shock, despair, and loneliness

• inspires all those who support them in their life-changing journeys

By writing this book, Davis learned that embracing his partner’s memory through poetry, letters, scholarships, and “tiny deeds of good action” helped him transcend grief. More than that, he was finally able to reconnect with the person he used to be before Jack died. Today, he dedicates his life to helping those who are suffering after the premature deaths of their spouses, mates, or partners.

“. . . a moving memoir that reveals the resilience of the human spirit in the face of personal tragedy. I only wish every patient could be so lucky to have such a devoted partner and advocate as John Davis.” - Katrina Firlik, MD, neurosurgeon and author of Another Day in the Frontal Lobe